


gold love

by soupsaga



Category: NCIS: New Orleans
Genre: Canon Lesbian Character, Coming Out, F/F, headcanon bisexual character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2019-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:15:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21572851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soupsaga/pseuds/soupsaga
Summary: this takes place after the bar scene in 6x02, which was the inspiration for the entire series
Relationships: Tammy Gregorio/Hannah Khoury
Kudos: 41





	1. common

Hannah was filling out paperwork when her eyes drifted away from the paper in front of her to the direction of the bathroom Tammy had pulled her into several weeks ago. When Tammy had practically pushed her into the small room, Hannah had experienced quite the adrenaline rush. She wasn’t sure what the cause was, but standing so close to Tammy in such a private area made her feel things she couldn’t explain. She kept this to herself, though, and demanded to know why Tammy had brought her into the bathroom of all places. The explanation Tammy had provided made complete sense, but Hannah couldn’t deny her natural disappointment with the reasoning even if she couldn’t explain it.

Although her gaze remained on the bathroom, her mind shifted to the night the two had spent at the lesbian bar. Hannah wondered if Tammy had frequented the bar often, she had witnessed Tammy engaging in casual conversation with the bartender present. What could only be described as jealousy began to burn in Hannah’s chest and her face fell as she realized what was occurring. She should have realized it sooner but the unfamiliarity of the situation clouded her judgment. Hannah had been denying herself for so long that she forgot how it felt to actually be attracted to a woman. The first time she felt attracted to a woman, she had felt disgusted with herself and repressed the feelings to the point where she couldn’t look at women for a long period of time unless she was already familiar with them. She couldn’t risk anything, there was no way that she could be attracted to women. She had built a life for herself and she couldn’t just throw it away because she thought she could possibly be attracted to a woman.

Hannah had successfully convinced herself that she was completely straight. That is until Tammy entered her life. Tammy’s openness about her sexuality brought back the feelings Hannah had repressed long ago. Working so closely with Tammy had started to change things for Hannah, she began to consider her sexuality once more. The fact that she wasn’t completely trapped in a marriage with Ryan anymore had allowed Hannah to consider the possibility of attraction to anyone else, not just other men. Although Hannah had started to consider being bisexual, she quickly forced herself back into the metaphorical closet when she was reminded of her daughter. She hadn’t even considered Naomi in all of this. What would she think of Hannah if she found out her mother was attracted to women? Hannah had raised her daughter to be inclusive and accepting of everyone, but changing her daughter’s perception of her was off of the table. Hannah had already established herself as a woman attracted to men, not women.

Chattering in the squad room brought Hannah out of her thoughts, this would have to wait until a later date. Hannah looked toward the source of the noise and found Tammy staring back at her. Tammy had a look of concern on her face, but Hannah gently shook her head in hopes of assuring the other woman that she was fine. There was no way Hannah could talk about this with Tammy when she was the one causing all of her inner turmoil.

“Do we have a case?” Hannah asked, her voice not completely there.

Tammy shook her head and smiled at the woman, though Hannah could still see the worry in her eyes. “Sebastian was just telling me that he would be gone for the weekend. You should come over one night, we can have a girls’ night.”

Hannah pondered the offer momentarily, was she going to be able to spend an entire night alone with Tammy after her revelation? She decided to simply say she would consider it, a response that would give her an out if need be. Hannah wanted nothing more than to spend time with the only other woman on the team, but she wasn’t sure if spending more time with Tammy would be good for her in her current state.

Luckily for Hannah, the response was enough for Tammy. The moment Hannah saw Tammy leave the squad room, her head fell into her hands. She couldn’t tell if she was truly attracted to the other woman or if she was just latching onto the woman that was unknowingly helping her accept herself. She needed to find an answer soon, maybe the girls’ night with Tammy was what she needed.

Unbeknownst to Hannah, Sebastian had fallen behind Tammy and watched Hannah’s reaction to her conversation with Tammy. He slowly approached her desk before speaking softly.

“Hannah, are you okay?”

Hannah’s head shot up and she plastered a fake smile onto her face. “Yeah, I just have a lot on my mind right now. I’m okay though.”

Sebastian simply nodded and looked back at Tammy, who had been standing in the doorway to the kitchen and watching the scene in front of her. He gave Hannah one last smile before catching up with Tammy.

Hannah was sure they were about to go outside to discuss her, which only fueled her anxiety. The fact that people would talk about her was one of the reasons she felt she would never want to come out as bisexual. She was a strong woman, but it would be difficult to know people always had an opinion about her personal life. She wondered how Tammy seemed to deal with it so easily, it was like Tammy was unbothered by the extra attention she received simply for dating women instead of men.

Saturday night came faster than Hannah had expected. She was standing outside of the house Tammy shared with Sebastian with a bottle of wine in her hand. It was a wine she knew Tammy loved, even though she knew Tammy would really drink anything. The moment Tammy opened the door, Hannah knew she was screwed.

Tammy was wearing a black tank top with jeans, an outfit similar to the one she wore when they went to the lesbian bar. Her hair was loose and curly, falling over her shoulders perfectly. Hannah noticed all of the tattoos on Tammy’s arms and silently wondered if she would ever learn the origin stories of each one. Realizing she was openly staring at her coworker, Hannah tore her eyes away and offered Tammy the bottle of wine she had been holding.

“You look great, Hannah,” Tammy complimented as her eyes scanned the woman in front of her. Hannah noticed the way her eyes lingered around her chest and she wished she knew exactly what Tammy was thinking at that moment. She wondered if the other woman had felt anything for her, if she was in a situation similar to Hannah’s.

Hannah blushed at the compliment and the attention she was receiving from the gorgeous woman in front of her. She followed Tammy inside of the house pausing to look at the decorations that were up. It was easy to determine which party contributed what, the movie posters were obviously Sebastian’s contribution while the art hanging on the walls was from Tammy. The bowling pin lamp on the end table was a mystery though, she wasn’t completely sure which of the agents had provided the piece in the living room.

Before she knew it, Hannah was sitting on the ground in Tammy’s living room while Tammy was on the couch and a bottle of wine was sitting on the coffee table with the glasses abandoned beside it. After a few glasses, Hannah had finally built up the courage to ask Tammy about her own experiences. She moved to where her back was against the couch on the opposite side as Tammy and leaned her head back to make eye contact with Tammy.

“How old were you when you had your first crush on a girl?”

Hannah could tell Tammy was taken aback by the line of questioning, but her shock was short-lived and quickly followed by an answer.

“It was after I got divorced, honestly. Growing up, I didn’t know it was a possibility and I married the first person I thought could take me away from my family. I met this woman that absolutely took my breath away.”

Hannah turned around so she could listen to Tammy more intently. She rested her arm on the cushion and laid her head in her hand as she watched the effect the memory had on Tammy’s expression. She had never seen this side of the other woman, she was absolutely in awe of how open Tammy was with her life. Hannah was jealous of how easy it seemed for Tammy to speak about her experiences with women and deep down, she wanted that for herself.

Tammy smiled down at her hands before continuing. “We were in a coffee shop in DC, she was in line before me and I silently admired her while we were in there. I went to work that day and ended up actually working with her, she’s a U.S. Attorney. I was slowly starting to realize that I was gay, so when she asked me to dinner I was a little shy. We were together for a long time before I started to focus on my job instead of my relationship. We decided to end things, but I still love what we had. Hannah and I are still friends though, I spoke to her about a month ago.”

“Hannah?” Hannah teased with a smile.

Tammy nodded and sipped her wine. Hannah’s eyes followed the glass to Tammy’s list, stopping herself before she was blatantly staring at her friend’s lips. She momentarily wonders what it would be like to kiss Tammy, if her lips would be as soft as they look.

Hannah took a deep breath before picking up her own glass and downing the remainder of her drink. She couldn’t believe her thoughts had wandered that far and she was not looking forward to more thoughts like those. She knew it wasn’t okay to think about her friend like that, even if that friend was also into women. In a way, it felt disrespectful to view Tammy that way when she was only being a friend to Hannah.

“I had a few relationships after her, nothing too serious. Lots of hookups and the occasional second date. Then, there was Eva. She was truly something else,” Tammy sighed. “I don’t know exactly what my feelings for her were, but she made me feel so different than anyone else ever had.”

Once again, Hannah felt the jealousy hit her. She wanted to listen to Tammy, but it was hard to hear her speak about a woman she seemed to still have some sort of feelings toward. Even though Hannah knew there wasn’t a chance Tammy would have a relationship with Eva, it still hurt Hannah to know that Tammy was so enamored with another woman after almost two years without contact.

After Tammy finished talking about the women she had been with any sense, Hannah decided to approach the topic of her own sexuality.

“Do you remember in the bar when I told you I wasn’t a lesbian?” When Hannah saw Tammy nod, she continued. “Well, I was telling the truth, but that isn’t it. I actually am interested in women, not just men.”

The smile on Tammy’s face grew into a goofy grin and she reached out to grab Hannah’s hand, oblivious to the butterflies she just caused to appear in Hannah’s stomach. “I’m so proud of you, baby. It takes a lot of courage to come out to anyone, including yourself. Have you told anyone else?”

Hannah shook her head and looked down at their hands. “I’ve barely accepted it for myself. I guess I was in the same boat as you, I hadn’t even considered it an option for myself until after I was apart from Ryan. It had come up before but I was in utter denial and I was absolutely terrified to even think about it. I don’t know if I’m ready to tell anyone else, but I think the wine helped me loosen up enough to tell you.”

Hannah couldn’t even look Tammy in the eyes after she came out, she was too scared of what she would see. She had heard of lesbians not being completely accepting of bisexual women and she was worried that could be the case for Tammy, even if they were friends beforehand. Hannah also worried that she would look at Tammy and she would wake up from a dream, she didn’t want to risk it. A part of her additionally was scared that if she made eye contact with Tammy, she would somehow let the other woman know about her feelings.

Tammy watched Hannah for a moment before realizing she wasn’t going to look back up. She let go of Hannah’s hand before using her own hand to lift Hannah’s chin. “Hannah, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Loving women is such an amazing experience and I truly hope that you can someday be open with yourself enough to realize that whatever you feel is perfectly fine. You just have to be gentle with yourself and accept that it’s all okay.”

Tears brimmed in Hannah’s eyes and she reached up to wipe them away once they started to fall, but she felt Tammy’s thumbs brushing them away. Through blurred vision, Hannah met Tammy’s eyes and covered her hand with her own. It was quite an intimate moment and Hannah was severely aware of it — so much for trying to ignore her feelings for Tammy.

Hannah didn’t want to ruin the moment, so she just sat quietly with Tammy’s hand on her face and her hand on Tammy’s. After sitting in a few moments of silence, Tammy was the first to speak up.

“Let’s watch a movie and I can order us some food.”

Nodding, Hannah moved to sit on the couch. She kept some distance between herself and Tammy as a way of making sure she didn’t do anything impulsively to ruin the night they had ahead of them. Despite desperately wanting to kiss Tammy, Hannah relaxed on the couch and pulled a blanket over herself. She didn’t dare look at the woman sitting beside her, it would be too hard to ignore her feelings when they were so close in proximity.

When Tammy sat back down after ordering food for the two of them, she sat closer to Hannah than she had initially been before she got up. She could sense Hannah’s comfort and reached out to wrap her arm around Hannah’s shoulders.

Hannah let out an appreciative hum and leaned against Tammy’s body. She could sit like this forever — not that she would admit it at this moment. Maybe later down the line when she was more comfortable with herself and her feelings for Tammy. Although, maybe she would never tell Tammy and try to focus on getting over the other woman. Hannah wasn’t sure what she wanted to do, at the moment all she knew was that this felt right. She curled up against Tammy and focused her attention on the movie playing on the TV. Her thoughts would have to wait for a time when she wasn’t cuddling with the woman she desired.


	2. the feels

A stirring beside Hannah awoke her from the light sleep she had entered. As her eyes fluttered open, she had to take a moment to remember where she was and who she was with. The soft voice beside her reminded her that she was at Tammy’s house and curled up on the couch with the woman. Hannah tried to move away quickly, she was embarrassed that she had fallen asleep while cuddling Tammy.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” Tammy whispered. She smiled down at Hannah and adjusted her hold on the woman. Tammy gently rubbed Hannah’s back as she adjusted to being awake.

“I’m sorry I fell asleep.”

Tammy shook her head, “Don’t be. We can move to my room so you can lay out.”

Hannah swallowed thickly and nodded, she couldn’t deny that she was freaking out on the inside. She had stayed at Tammy’s place before, but this would be much different. She didn’t know how Tammy would react to sharing a bed with her now that she had come out.

Tammy stood up first and held out her hand for Hannah to grab. When she did, Tammy led her to her bedroom down the hall.

Holding Tammy’s hand caused the butterflies in Hannah’s stomach to come out again. She had experienced several firsts with Tammy during this girls’ night and she still wasn’t used to the changes in their relationship.

The two had reached Tammy’s room before Hannah had even realized it and she was currently being handed a t-shirt and shorts.

“I’m going to run into the bathroom, feel free to go ahead and change. You can pick either side, I don’t really have a preference.” With that, Tammy disappeared into the bathroom and Hannah was left alone to change. She looked down at the shirt Tammy had given her and laughed, it was an old shirt from the FBI academy.

Hannah quickly changed and folded her clothes before setting them down on the corner of Tammy’s dresser. She took a moment to look around the bedroom, seeing what she could gather about Tammy based on the items displayed in her room.

On a bookshelf, Hannah found a framed picture of Tammy grinning with a young girl. They had similar facial features, as well as the dark curled tresses. A smile grew on Hannah’s face as she observed the picture and realized how happy Tammy was in the photograph. Tammy’s smile was one she was seeing more often compared to when she had first met the woman. It was a beautiful smile in Hannah’s opinion, so she didn’t have any complaints.

“That’s my niece.”

Hannah turned around to see Tammy walking out of the bathroom wearing a tank top and shorts that hugged her body. She tried not to stare, but she was in awe of the woman standing in front of her. Hannah tore her eyes away and Tammy’s gaze met her own with a seemingly knowing smile. Before she could make things worse, Hannah turned her attention back to the picture frame in her hands.

“She’s adorable, she looks just like you,” Hannah commented.

Tammy moved closer to Hannah to get a closer look at the photo. “She really is. That picture is really old, she’s fifteen now.”

Hannah spared the picture one last glance before setting it back in its place. “Do you get to see her often?”

Moving toward the bed, Tammy shook her head. “I haven’t seen her in over a year. She used to practically live with me, it was really hard on her when I left. Her mother doesn’t like me, so I try not to be around if I know Andrea will be there.”

“Is it because you’re gay?”

“No, I hooked up with one of her best friends.”

Hannah couldn’t help but laugh at the blunt response from Tammy and she shook her head at the woman before pulling back the blanket and crawling into bed beside her. She kept her distance and rolled on her side, facing the opposite direction of Tammy. She didn’t want to face the woman while they were sharing a bed, she felt it would be difficult to not stare at Tammy.

The two laid in silence, the noises of their breathing being the only sound filling the room. Hannah’s mind was racing without having a conversation needing to be held. She wondered if she was making the right choice by hanging out with Tammy when she had uncertain feelings for the woman. She was unsure if this would only make things worse in the long run, or if it would actually benefit her.

Tammy’s voice brought a welcomed interruption to the silence between the two. “Hannah,” she called out.

“Yeah?” Hannah asked as she rolled over to face Tammy. She propped her head upon her arm and raised an eyebrow at her.

Tammy opened her arms toward Hannah, holding the blanket up. She patted the space beside her, coaxing the woman to move to her side to the bed.

Hannah grinned and scooted toward Tammy, falling in place in her arms. She wrapped her arms around Tammy’s torso and nuzzled her face in Tammy’s neck. This was an odd position for the friends, but Hannah was not going to question anything tonight. She was happy and that was all that mattered. She felt Tammy’s arms tighten around her body and she realized that she felt safe in her grip.

“I’m so proud of you, Hannah,” Tammy whispered before kissing the side of her head. She closed her eyes and exhaled softly. “Goodnight, baby.”

The gentle tone of Tammy’s voice caused tears to swell in Hannah’s eyes — nobody had ever spoken to her so tenderly. As a friend, Tammy treated Hannah better than anyone she had ever had a relationship had. Things were just different with Tammy and this made Hannah wonder if her feelings were just a crush as she had assumed or if she had genuine feelings for the woman. She was scared of the answer, she had only just come out to Tammy and she was still afraid to come out to her daughter.

—

When Hannah woke up the next morning, her legs were completely tangled with Tammy’s and Tammy’s face was now buried in her neck. This shift would have made Hannah laugh if she wasn’t cuddling a sleeping Tammy, so she settled for a small exhale out of her nose and the slightest shaking of her head. Hannah moved her hand from Tammy’s back to her hair, where she gently ran her fingers through the tossed tresses.

This was the best way to wake up, Hannah had decided. She had missed the feeling of cuddling with someone else, this was something she wouldn’t mind doing every day for the rest of her life — especially with Tammy.

The sunlight started to peek into the bedroom through the curtains, radiating throughout the room. The light fell on Tammy’s back, drawing Hannah’s attention to where Tammy’s shirt had ridden up during the night. She swallowed thickly as her eyes roamed the large patch of skin that was exposed and she slowly moved her hand to gently brush her fingers over the spot. Something was drawing her to Tammy’s body, she felt like she had no control over her movements. From an outside perspective, the two looked like a couple rather than friends that had only known each other for a year.

After a while of Hannah’s various petting, Tammy finally began to stir. Hannah watched as Tammy’s eyes fluttered open and a smile grew on her lips. Hannah smiled back at the woman and began to pull away to give Tammy space to fully wake up.

Tammy glanced at the clock behind Hannah’s head and her grin grew. “Wow, I haven’t been able to sleep in this late in a long time. Maybe we should sleep together more often.” Her eyes widened as she realized what she had just said to Hannah. “I mean sleep in the same bed, together. Not sleep together. Because that’s what we did — sleep.”

Hannah tried to contain her laughter, but she failed this time. She tossed her head back and let out genuine giggles. When she returned to her previous position, she saw Tammy sitting with blushed cheeks.

“You are adorable, Agent Gregorio.”

Tammy wrapped her arms around Hannah once more and pulled her back to the position they had woken up in. She buried her face back into the crook of Hannah’s neck to hide her embarrassment.

Even if she didn’t know it, Tammy was teasing Hannah. At this point, Hannah wanted nothing more than to kiss Tammy’s lips and let her hands wander more than they had earlier but she knew it wasn’t the time. The tension between the two was almost unbearable, but Hannah knew she needed to keep up the appearance that she wasn’t affected by Tammy’s actions.

Hannah felt Tammy take a deep breath against her neck before pulling away from her embrace.

“Do you want to eat here or go out for breakfast?” Tammy asked, looking up at Hannah.

Hannah bit her lip. “I would honestly prefer to stay here — as long as you have coffee, of course.”

Tammy scoffed at the accusation. “Do you even know who you’re talking to, Khoury? I always have coffee.”

A small giggle slipped from Hannah’s lips before she finally got up from the bed. She stared down at Tammy and asked if she was going to stay in bed all day, which earned her an eye roll from the woman.

In the kitchen, Tammy and Hannah fell into a comfortable flow as they prepared breakfast together. It was as if they had cooked together every day, rather than this being the first occasion. As Hannah set down the spatula to reach for her coffee, Tammy’s hand effortlessly grabbed the spatula — resulting in a perfect transition.

The closeness of her body to Tammy’s was intoxicating for Hannah. It was hard for her to ignore her thoughts, she was standing inches away from the woman that drove her wild. For a moment, she stood still with her face right next to Tammy’s and her eyes flickered down to the woman’s lips. When her eyes met Tammy’s again, Tammy had been staring right at her as if she was daring her to make the first move.

Hannah let out a soft breath before closing her eyes and leaning down to close the gap between their lips. Just as their lips were about to meet, Hannah heard a voice in the hallway.

“Tammy?” Sebastian called out, tossing his keys into the bowl beside the door.

“Shit,” Tammy uttered. She stepped back from Hannah with an apologetic smile and turned to face her roommate and best friend.

Hannah took a moment to catch her breath and placed her hand on the counter beside her to maintain her balance. Her heart was racing, she was so close to finally kissing Tammy and they were interrupted. She wondered if she would ever get the chance again, it seemed like she had been making an impulsive move and she didn’t make those often.

Sebastian’s eyes moved to Hannah and he gave her a small wave and a smile. “I forgot about your girls’ night.”

“You weren’t supposed to be home until tonight.”

“Yeah, my original flight got canceled so I had to switch to an earlier one. I tried to call you to let you know but you didn’t answer.”

Tammy glanced over the counter to the living room, where she noticed both her and Hannah’s phones on the end table beside the couch. She wandered over to the spot and grabbed both phones before handing Hannah hers.

Hannah quickly read through her notifications, a text from Ryan standing out.

“I need to go,” Hannah muttered before walking out of the kitchen and toward Tammy’s room. She was grateful for the out but disappointed that she wasn’t currently making out with Tammy in the kitchen instead. Maybe things were better this way, she wouldn’t have to have the awkward talk with Tammy about her feelings and what this meant for them.

Tammy followed Hannah down the hall, closing the door behind them once they reached Tammy’s bedroom. “What’s wrong?”

“I have to go pick up Naomi. Ryan has to leave for a work emergency. He had just called and left a text right before Sebastian came in.” Hannah excluded the part where she didn’t want to have to talk to Tammy about what had just happened in the kitchen, so Ryan had perfect timing.

Nodding, Tammy wrapped her arms around Hannah for a quick hug before stepping back. “Thank you for coming over and opening up. I’m still so proud of you. Feel free to borrow something to wear.”

She tossed a soft, “Tell Naomi I said hey,” before leaving her bedroom to let Hannah change.

Still feeling overwhelmed about the whole situation, Hannah sat down on Tammy’s bed to collect her thoughts. She was conflicted, a side of her wanted to kiss Tammy in the kitchen, but the rational part of her wanted to talk herself down. Things were less messy this way.

After finally coming to a decision, Hannah rummaged through Tammy’s closet to find a shirt to wear with her jeans. She grabbed a soft v-neck tee and tried to ignore the feeling of wearing another one of Tammy’s shirts while she changed.

While she was in Tammy’s room, Hannah could hear Sebastian and Tammy speaking in the kitchen.

“You like her,” Sebastian stated, although his tone could have been read as questioning.

A moment of silence came before Tammy’s response. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t have a chance.”

“You guys were having a moment before I walked in.”

“Sebastian, I’m warning you. Shut up.”

Hannah stifled a laugh at Tammy’s retort. She could imagine the scene she was hearing, the two bickered like siblings constantly. After getting over her amusement from Tammy and Sebastian, Hannah realized she was not the only one in the friendship with feelings. She wished she hadn’t heard that — this wasn’t what she needed.

Desperate to get out of the house and away from her thoughts, Hannah quickly grabbed her things and rushed out of Tammy’s bedroom. She yelled a quick goodbye to Tammy and Sebastian before leaving the house to pick up Naomi.

Oh, Naomi. Hannah still hadn’t come to a decision about telling her daughter about her sexuality. She wanted to wait to bring it up until she was ever seeing a woman, but deep down she didn’t want to keep things from her daughter. Hannah didn’t want Naomi to hate her for keeping secrets, even if it was only a secret because she was scared. She knew she didn’t have to make a decision at the moment, but she knew she would have to make the decision soon before Naomi found out from someone else.


	3. great ones

The moment Hannah picked Naomi up from Ryan’s house, the young girl began talking her ear off. Hannah was used to this, her daughter would catch her up on everything she missed while they were apart. Hannah would always spare occasional glances at Naomi to witness how animated her daughter got when she spoke about her life’s events.

When there was a slight lull in the conversation, Hannah took her chance to test the waters about a more serious conversation.

“Hey, Naomi?” She asked, her serious tone pulling the girl’s attention from the window she had been staring out of.

“Yeah?”

When Hannah had her daughter’s attention, she bit her lip. She wasn’t sure exactly how to approach the subject so she settled for easing her way in. “You know my friend Tammy from work?”

Naomi’s expression lit up at the mention of Tammy. The two had only spent a small amount of time together, but it was enough for Naomi to love hanging out with her. It warmed Hannah’s heart to know that Tammy was so good with kids — with her kid especially.

“I’ve talked to you about how she dates women, right?”

Naomi nodded.

Hannah glanced back at her daughter in the rearview mirror. “What do you think of that?”

“It’s cool! Her kids will have two moms! They’ll be lucky.”

A smile grew on Hannah’s lips as she heard her daughter’s response. She had raised Naomi to be accepting of everyone and it was nice to hear that Naomi had held onto those values. Hannah chewed on her lips and tapped her fingers on the steering wheel as she thought about what to say next. She was unsure if the car was the best place to tell her daughter that she also wanted to date women.

“Mom?” Naomi asked, realizing her mother had fallen silent.

Hannah looked at Naomi through the rearview mirror and plastered a smile on her face. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m just doing a lot of thinking.”

“About what?”

At that moment, Hannah cursed herself for raising such a curious child. She loved to watch Naomi as a curious child, but this was not an instance in which Hannah really wanted Naomi to be curious.

“You know your dad and I aren’t together anymore,” Hannah trailed off. “What would you think if I also dated women?”

Hannah kept her eyes forward, she was absolutely terrified of her daughter’s answer. Her heart was racing as she waited for a response from the girl in the backseat and her mind immediately jumped to the worst-case scenario.

When Naomi finally responded, Hannah was already pulling into her driveway. She put the car in park before turning around to face her daughter.

“I could have two moms and a dad! That would be cool. Would you date Tammy?”

Biting her lip, Hannah shook her head and tried not to laugh. Even if her Naomi didn’t have a clue about her feelings, she still managed to bring up the possibility of dating Tammy.

“I don’t think so, honey,” Hannah replied. “We’re just friends.” _Just friends and nothing more_ , Hannah reminded herself.

Thankfully, Naomi unintentionally dropped the subject. She rushed her mom to get out of the car so that the two could get inside to have a movie marathon. Hannah had suggested the idea when she picked up Naomi, knowing the girl was looking forward to spending time with her father. The suggestion immediately got Naomi’s mind off of her time with her dad being cut short and she already had begun planning what movies they would watch before Hannah could even pull out of the driveway.

Several animated children’s movies later, Hannah felt her stomach growl and checked the time. It was too late for lunch, but she could get away with doing an early dinner for Naomi and herself. When they arrived home earlier in the morning, Hannah had pulled a brick of pizza dough out of the freezer and left it in the refrigerator to thaw so she could make pizza for dinner. Ever since being back with her daughter, Hannah was trying to make up for their lost time — which included making her favorite dinners whenever she got the chance.

“Let’s take a break from watching movies to make dinner,” Hannah suggested, ruffling Naomi’s hair.

Naomi giggled at her mother and hid her face in Hannah’s shoulder.

Shaking her head, Hannah kissed the top of Naomi’s head before standing up to head to the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and grabbed everything she needed to make the pizza, including some additional ingredients to make a salad to have along with dinner.

“Can we invite Tammy?”

Hannah turned around to face her daughter. She bit her lip and looked over at her phone that was sitting on the island. “I don’t know, honey, she might have plans.”

Naomi’s smile slowly turned to a frown and she sighed loudly, leaning against the counter. “Can we call her and ask?”

Knowing her daughter wouldn’t give up, Hannah nodded. She set all of the ingredients on the counter before going to reach for her phone, but she wasn’t faster than Naomi, who had already grabbed the device and was looking for Tammy’s contact.

“Put it on speaker,” Hannah mumbled once Naomi finally pressed ‘call’.

Naomi followed her mother’s order, grinning as she waited for Tammy to answer.

“Hello?” Tammy’s voice echoed through the room.

“Tammy!” Naomi exclaimed. “Are you doing anything right now? Mom and I are going to make pizza and then watch more movies!”

Hannah leaned her elbows on the island as she spoke toward her phone. “Naomi wanted to invite you, but if you have plans already, it’s completely fine.”

Hannah wasn’t lying when she said it was fine, she wasn’t sure if being around Tammy was the best thing for her right now but she couldn’t deny her daughter. The two had a sweet bond and Hannah couldn’t ruin that for Naomi simply because she was confused about her feelings toward Tammy. She would have to ignore whatever she was feeling for the night and let Naomi enjoy her time with Tammy. She wasn’t sure if she would have many more nights like this if she were to make the mistake she had almost made earlier in the morning.

“I’m down the street, I can be there in a few minutes,” Tammy replied, unaware of the excitement she just caused for Naomi, as well as the internal dilemma she was causing in Hannah.

“Great,” Hannah smiled. “We’ll see you then.”

Within a few minutes of ending the call, Hannah’s doorbell rang. Hannah set down the knife she had been using to chop the tomatoes for the pizza and smiled at Naomi. “Tammy’s here.” She walked toward the door, pausing in front of the mirror beside her door. Hannah fixed any stray strands in her hair and adjusted her top before taking a small breath and opening the door to reveal a smiling Tammy on the other side.

“Hey,” Tammy said softly, biting her lip as her eyes roamed over Hannah’s body.

“Hi,” came Hannah’s short reply. She opened the door wide enough to let Tammy in and turned to call for Naomi.

Before Hannah could even say anything, Naomi came running out from the kitchen and ran straight for Tammy. She jumped into the woman’s arms, showing more excitement than Hannah had seen from her in a while.

Tammy kissed Naomi’s cheek before setting her back on the ground. “Hey, kiddo!”

“You’re just in time! Mom and I are making the pizza now!”

Hannah nodded, “I was prepping everything while waiting on you.”

Naomi grabbed Tammy’s hand and led her to the kitchen, leaving Hannah standing alone by the door. She closed it, making sure to lock it, and followed her daughter and best friend into the kitchen. Hannah plastered on a smile and tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach as she walked right behind Tammy. She fought to ignore how she delicious she smelled, or how warm her body was when Hannah’s hand brushed against her back when she walked behind her to get back to the refrigerator.

While Naomi spoke to Tammy, Hannah reached into the fridge and pulled out two beers. After handing one to Tammy, Hannah dug into the drawer closest to her and grabbed the bottle opener she kept. She opened Tammy’s bottle first, earning a grin from the woman that sent a shiver down her spine. She quickly opened her own and downed a few sips, hoping it would help her ignore whatever it was she was feeling.

Hannah relaxed as she fell into a routine with Tammy and Naomi, everyone having a specific role in the preparation of dinner. Things moved smoothly, much like Tammy and Hannah’s situation earlier in the morning — without the sexual tension being as obvious as it was then.

After dinner, the three had settled on the couch with Naomi sitting between the two women. Naomi had picked out a movie she wanted to show Tammy, but by the end of the movie, Naomi had fallen asleep with her head resting on Tammy’s chest. At some point, Naomi had left Hannah’s grip and moved to lean against Tammy, who wrapped her arm around the girl with a smile on her face.

Hannah’s heart nearly leapt out of her chest at the scene unfolding beside her. Seeing her daughter so comfortable with Tammy brought her feelings to another level, one she didn’t even know existed.

“I came out to her,” Hannah whispered to Tammy. “She was excited at the idea of me dating.”

Tammy turned her head as a wide grin grew on her face. “She was?”

Nodding, Hannah looked down at her daughter and reached down to brush her hair out of her face. She didn’t dare mention Naomi’s question about the possibility of the two of them dating, she didn’t want to ruin whatever they had going.

The room fell silent and Tammy reached out to grab Hannah’s hand that had been resting on the back of the couch. Her thumb rubbed gentle circles on the back of it, relaxing the woman beside her. This earned a soft smile from Hannah as well as an appreciative hum.

Naomi’s grip on Tammy’s shirt tightened, drawing Hannah’s attention away from their joined hands. She let out a small breath before shaking her head. “I should get her to bed.”

“I’ll take her,” Tammy offered, smiling down at Naomi’s sleeping figure.

There was no hesitation from Hannah relating to the offer, she trusted Tammy with her daughter. It would also give her a minute alone to collect her thoughts while she cleaned up the living room from their day of binging movies.

Hannah’s phone stared back at her on the end table beside the couch and she glanced down the hall before picking it up. Within a few taps, the phone was ringing. She held it up to her ear, waiting on the person on the other end to pick up.

Once she heard a voice, she sat on the arm of the couch and took a deep breath. “Ryan, I’m ready to sign the papers.”


End file.
